Soul Searching About Soul Food

"Soul food tastes good!," Byron Hurt was told again and again as he worked on Soul Food Junkies, his documentary set to premiere tonight on PBS. But he wanted to make a different point as the son of an overweight man who died of pancreatic cancer. "People are very emotionally connected," he told NPR. "They're connected to the food that their mother prepared or their grandmother or their great-grandmother prepared."

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His film, he said, wasn't made to toss the traditions out, "But it's really to say we can continue to enjoy our great tradition if we change the way to prepare it." Unfortunately, soul food is experiencing a bit of a renaissance in America right now, with hot, young chefs opening fresh (and utterly unhealthy) takes on fried chicken and waffles. Meanwhile, Paula Dean is a near constant presence on television while serving as a paid spokesperson for a diabetes drugmaker. And this is all happening in a land that leads Planet Earth in deep-fried innovations. At least there are people like Hurt out there, fighting the good fight. [via NPR]